Stromile Swift (shown here in a familiar wincing pose) is expected to return to practice this week.

Atlanta Hawks

Al Horford sprained his ankle Tuesday night but it didn’t seem very serious.  He was able to gingerly walk back to the locker room under his own power.  Just in case you were wondering, Zaza Pachulia and Solomon Jones are the subs at center.  It’s almost like grade school when the substitute came into the class. In other words, don’t expect much.  Pachulia’s line on Tuesday was 0 for 6 from the field, scoring only four points and eight rebounds.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics announced on Tuesday that they have assigned rookie guard J.R. Giddens to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. Giddens practiced well for the Celtics but remained inactive in every game this season.  Leon Powe scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a victory against the Knicks on Tuesday night.  Kevin Garnett missed this game due to a one-game suspension, which means Powe and Brian Scalabrine will go back to limited minutes.

Charlotte Bobcats

Sean May went scoreless in the first 13 minutes of Tuesday night’s game versus the Dallas Mavericks.  Coach Larry Brown hinted around sending May to the inactive list due to poor conditioning.  While Jason Richardson has been sidelined with a knee injury, the team lacks any competitive ability.  D.J. Augustin has been effective at the point position.  He scored a career-high 21 points against the Mavericks.   

Chicago Bulls 

Derrick Rose has been the ring leader for the baby Bulls thus far.  He’s scored double figures in each of his 11 games. Rose has poured in at least 20 points in five games and led the Bulls in scoring.   Tuesday night’s loss to the Lakers was the opener of a seven-game road trip for Chicago that finishes Nov. 30 in Philadelphia. It's called the annual circus trip because the circus comes to the United Center while they're out of town. This taxing road trip has traditionally spelled doom for the Bulls.  Your only must-starts are Rose, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.  

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James was named as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second straight week for games played Monday, November 10th through Sunday, November 16th.  James is kerosene heater hot right now.  He became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to reach the 40-point mark at least three times in his team’s first eight games of the season.  King James also became the youngest player to reach 11,000 points in his career this week. 

Detroit Pistons

Richard Hamilton has been the leading scorer for the Pistons since he arrived in 2002, but he’s been having difficulty lighting up the scoreboard since Allen Iverson arrived in town.  I would use Rip as trade bait in your league because the scoring dip will continue.  Jason Maxiell has seen his playing time dwindle only averaging 11.5 minutes in the past four games.  Coach Curry has used a small line-up recently.  He even started Amir Johnson before Maxiell for one game.  Johnson didn’t do much and does not warrant any fantasy value.  This move was just a wake up call for the Piston bench players.  

Indiana Pacers

Rasho Nesterovic scored a season-high 21 points on Tuesday, going 10-of-19 from the field with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. Nesterovic is solid in all phases of the game.  He is a battle-tested veteran that should find a way onto your roster.  This also means Roy Hibbert has seen more of the pine lately, so waive him and look for Jeff Foster. 

Miami Heat

Daequan Cook is making positive strides in his second season in the league.  The second-year player from Ohio State had a season-best 16 points Sunday at Toronto. He's now scored in the double digits for three of his last four games.  Chris Quinn is averaging 12 points in his last four games.  He averages three trey attempts per game hitting 54%.  Quinn could steal some minutes away from starter Mario Chalmers in the upcoming week. 

Milwaukee Bucks

Coach Scott Skiles has toyed with starting Ramon Sessions over Luke Ridnour.  Sessions has outplayed his teammate this season and the coach favors him during crunch time in the fourth quarter of games.  Sessions, who was playing for Tulsa in the D-League at this time last year, made a series of big plays last Wednesday in the Bucks' victory over the Spurs. He is averaging 15.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 5.3 assists per game which tops Ridnour’s numbers across the board.  Charlie Villanueva is still injured and day-to-day along with Michael Redd.  Luc Mbah a Moute has played reasonably well in place of Villanueva.  Moute will see an increased role even when Villanueva returns.   


New Jersey Nets

Ryan Anderson entered Tuesday as the league's leading three-point shooter, hitting 66.7% on 10-of-15, including 6-of-6 in the two victories against Atlanta over the weekend.  Stromile Swift (bruised lower back) has been inactive since taking a nasty fall in practice on Oct. 17. He has returned to non-contact practice and now says he could be returning within a week.

New York Knicks

Jamal Crawford played just 25 minutes on Tuesday, finishing with three points on 1-of-4 shooting and three assists. Crawford was benched for the entire fourth quarter.  Coach D'Antoni went with Nate Robinson (14 points, three rebounds, four assists in 31 minutes) for longer stretches. No need to panic Crawford owners unless it happens again. 

Orlando Magic

Jameer Nelson scored a season-high 22 points on Tuesday, shooting 10-of-15 from the field with three rebounds, five assists and three turnovers Nelson is a legitimate starter since no other guards on the bench threaten his playing time.  In his last four games, Nelson hit 33-of-55 shots and averaged 18.8 points.  Mickael Pietrus (bruised ribs) missed the game against Toronto, and he is not expected to practice again this week. He is questionable for Friday night against the Pacers.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers have the injury bug this week.  Check this out before you insert your line up. The injuries are questionable but you make the call.  Samuel Dalembert has a sprained knee.  Reggie Evans is expected to play through his thumb injury and Andre Iguodala sprained his foot in practice on Monday.  Good luck with this mash unit. 

Toronto Raptors

Jamario Moon was the third man off the Raptors’ bench on Tuesday.  His line included no points, two rebounds, one steal and zero blocks in 13 minutes. Initially he lost his job and became the sixth man but the eight-man is not cool.  It’s time to unload him Moon owners. 

Washington Wizards

Rookie center JaVale McGee has seen increased playing time due to Etan Thomas’ ineffectiveness on the court.  Antonio Daniels has missed some playing time in Washington.  His back-up Juan Dixon does not play consistently enough to have fantasy value.